


Paw Print Heart

by jimalim320



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV), stepril
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Future Fic, Getting a Pet, valentines exchange gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:53:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29432010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jimalim320/pseuds/jimalim320
Summary: Sterling and April want to take the next step in their relationship and adopt a pet. Dog vs Cat debate ensues. Fluffiness galore!My TBH Valentine's Exchange gift for @Silent_Rain91on twitter. Hope you enjoy!!
Relationships: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Paw Print Heart

"It doesn't matter how many cute dog videos you send me Sterl, you're not gonna change my mind." April loudly calls out after opening the attachment Sterling text her from the other room of their tiny apartment. She had just gotten home, and Sterling was in their bathroom looking for some pain reliever.

Sterling joins April in the kitchen, handing her girlfriend, who had complained of having a headache moments before, the pills. "Come on, you're not even gonna consider getting getting puppy?"

They’ve been together for almost two years after reconnecting at their 5 year high school reunion. They moved in to save money while April attended her final year of college, but made it official soon after. Sterling went to school for a year before ultimately deciding bounty hunting with Blair was really the only thing she wanted to do. So after living together and being in a loving committed relationship for as long as they have been, they agreed to take the next step: adopt a pet!

Sterling has been lobbying for a dog for weeks, constantly sending her girlfriend cute pictures and videos any time they come across her social feeds, pointing out every dog they see on the street, and even dog sitting Blair’s puppy to get April to warm up to the idea.

April on the other hand has been championing a cat. Sgt. Bilko unfortunately passed during her third year of undergrad and she has been missing his companionship ever since. "Babe, we've been through this already. You're lucky I agreed to getting a pet in the first place." April reluctantly pleads as she sits down to take off her shoes after a long day of grad school classes. Since she started graduate school, she has been exhausted, often coming home with a headache like today. As much as she wanted to get a pe with Sterling, the thought of having to take care of another being when she has a hard enough time taking care of herself these days is a lot.

"I just don't understand why you're so opposed to dogs, you love the idea of us getting a cat, what's the difference?” Sterling questions as she brings April a glass of her favorite tea. It’s a routine she’s timed perfectly, knowing exactly when to start the kettle so the water is ready as soon as April walks through the door. She loves doting on her girl so much, beaming with pride at how hard she works. Anything she can do to help her out, makes Sterling feel happy.

Pssssht, April begins, "there's plenty of difference. For starters, cats are quite self-sufficient, a dog requires attention and time we don't have. Or did you forget how few hours we actually get to spend in this tiny apartment?" It’s true. Between Aprils classes and Sterling’s crazy hours bounty hunting, they are often away from their home. It’s rare for both of them to be home at the same time as well, other than the couple of hours they get to spend before going to bed, and even that isn’t a guarantee depending of Sterling’s case load that day.

"So you're busy with school, but if we got a certain breed, I could bring the dog with me to work! Help us track down some skips!" Sterling laughs, a hound dog would be a great addition to their little team she thinks.

"NO." April hard rejects, "I spend enough time worrying about you bounty hunting, I'm not adding to the list." She softly caresses Sterling’s face. April wasn’t thrilled about her girlfriends line of work when she first found out about it, though there were other complications wrapped up in that due to the twins part in her father’s arrest. Eventually she got over it, knowing that Sterling’s been doing this for years, she knows what she’s doing. Plus her sister is with her, and lord knows Blair would never let anyone hurt Sterling. April still worries, but only over the things she can’t control, never about doubting Sterling’s ability.

"Debate me." Sterling muses, fondly remembering their days on debate team. It’s bene a while since either girl pulled this tactic.

"Isn't that kind of what we're already doing?"

"I mean, kinda, but no,” Sterling plays with April’s hands in hers, “debate me. Dog vs cat. I'll start.” She straightens up and gets serious, or as serious as you can get while debating the topic of dogs. “Dogs are super playful and fun! Not to mention how cute they are!” She gets really excited, bouncing on the couch seat as makes her next point, “Oh, oh and they make for the best cuddle buddies! Besides you that is!!” She grins, squeezing April’s hands. Sterling quiets as her list fades from mind, “Uhhh the tracking scents thing-"

April takes the opportunity to cut her off to begin her rebuttal. "Cats are playful too, though in different ways. Have you seen anything cuter than a cat? I mean?” She makes googly eyes at Sterling as a way to say besides me, like Sterling did. “Cats like to cuddle too! And because they are typically smaller, they won't take up too much bedspace. Again, I'm not letting you drag our pseudo-child into your dangerous profession."

She straightens up and scoots a bit closer to Sterling, she speaks with a low calm but stern tone, "now to reiterate, Dogs are needy, cats aren't. We are too busy to give a dog the full attention it'll need. It's not fair to the dog. Cats are relatively low maintenance because they are litter trained and self bathe. Again they are smaller, our apartment is so tiny.” She gestures around the small open concept living room, kitchen, dinette area. It really is just one larger room set up as vignettes. They have one bedroom and one bathroom as well, but that’s it. No spare space for a dog to really stretch it’s legs. “Cats are cheaper, from adoption fees to needing less/cheaper toys, less trips to the groomer, etc.”

She scoots real close to Sterling before making her final point, practically a whisper. “Plus I miss Sgt. Bilko." Ironically using puppy dog eyes to really make it land. She leans back against Sterling who wraps an arm around her as they cuddle up close.

"Wow you were really prepared."

April straddles Sterling's lap, wrapping her arms around her neck. "Oh baby, you should know by now, I’m _always_ prepared." She leans down and kisses Sterling senseless.

Mmm, Sterling lets out, eyes still rolled back into her head. "Ok, I can see the appeal of a cat, but I think I'm gonna need a bit more convincing." Sterling muses playfully pointing at her lips.

April laughs at her girlfriend's silly nature and happily obliges.

Sterling abruptly pulls back a few minutes later, "but I get to name em!" She grins before maneuvering herself from April's embrace and runs to their bedroom calling out potential names for their future cat. She likes giving pets people names, the more people-like the better, because it's amusing to her.

April rolls her eyes at the thought of having a cat named Trevor but gets very excited at the picture of the two of them, holding their new fur baby. She doesn’t anticipate the second cat they end up bringing home because Sterling convinced her that all great things come in pairs, like her and Blair, and of course Sterling and April.


End file.
